Dark Moon
District E.
If this were Korea, it would be the equivalent of Myeongdong in Seoul — a place packed with tourists and wealthy clientele. Nobles out shopping were a particularly common sight here.
The one thing you had to be careful about was staring at the nobility. Lock eyes with one of them and you could find yourself in a genuine "How dare some commoner look me in the eye?" situation. When you saw a noble, you glanced sideways, as if you couldn't care less. Better yet, you didn't draw their attention at all.
Even in Neo London's most refined commercial district, darkness had its place. A street that stood in stark contrast to the glittering lights surrounding it — they called it Ayla Street.
It had been built by the descendants of Ayla, once a hero of Neo London, as they expanded their business ventures. The nobility, out of respect for Ayla, quietly looked the other way when it came to the street's various conveniences. Of course, the real reason was that the nobles' own dirty money was tangled up in the place, so they simply preferred not to touch it.
The moment I set foot on Ayla Street, eyes locked onto me from every direction. Wary eyes.
You couldn't flinch under those stares here. Bluffing was fine. You had to look strong. That way, no one would bother picking a fight.
"Hey, scrub. Walking around reeking of money like that… you trying to seduce us on purpose?"
Three Black men snickered as they approached. Arms and legs of metal — cyborgs.
"……"
I raised a hand and touched my own face. I hadn't expected to get hassled less than a minute after stepping onto Ayla Street.
Does my face really look that much like a scrub…? I wasn't even hiding my power.
I glanced around. The ones who looked like mercenaries were staring at the three men with something like pity. They'd recognized what I was packing.
So the idiots in front of me are just brainless thugs.
I kept my mouth shut out of sheer disbelief, and they took it as fear, growing even more cocky.
"We're in a tight spot right now. No cash. Had some drinks, and the tab came out fucking ridiculous."
"Bullshit. You're the one who called the girls over."
"And we didn't even get to fuck them."
"Shut your goddamn mouths. Anyway, here's the point. We need money. Lend us some. A hundred thousand credits'll do."
I could kill them. Kill them in a single breath.
But there were too many eyes watching. Nobody had any intention of helping — they were just watching with keen interest, as if a fun little show had dropped into their laps.
How is it that not a single person is calling the cops?
I was starting to doubt this was really District E. I'd have believed them if they said it was District X.
Killing them is absolutely off the table. Too many witnesses. As shitty as it is, this is District E. Murder crosses a line.
That said, I couldn't just ignore them and walk away either.
Running from scum like this? Setting my pride aside, my reputation would tank. Who would hire a mercenary who fled from trash like these?
"What's with this guy, is he retarded? Why isn't he saying anything?"
"Is asking for money that hard?"
"Maybe I should smack him in the head. My TV works fine after I hit it once."
A low hum. Mana stirred. A magic circle bloomed in front of my hand. Their eyes went wide.
"Oh, fuck!"
"He's a mage!"
"Spare us!!"
The moment they saw the circle, they scrambled away in a panic. The way they split cleanly in three directions told me they'd done this a few times before.
I dismissed the magic. This was District E, and there were plenty of eyes watching. I had to restrain myself.
"Spineless bastards. And here I thought I'd found a fun way to kill some time…"
"Back in my day, whether the other guy was a mage or a knight, we pulled our guns first. Kids these days…"
"Oh, shut up. You dropped to your knees and begged for your life in front of a knight back then."
"You little shit. Like you didn't do the same."
The crowd that had gathered melted away. Now that they'd confirmed I was a mage, some of the wary stares eased off as well.
"What's a spell-slinger doing around here?"
As I walked, the owner of a shashlik stall called out to me. A middle-aged man.
"Do I need to report that to you?"
"I get that you're in a foul mood after what just happened… but don't be so prickly. I'm trying to help you out. First time here, right? You know your way around?"
"…I'm looking for the Gomez Clinic."
"A mage looking for the Gomez Clinic? That tracks. Mana roads got wrecked, huh? Still managed to cast, though. How'd you end up like that?"
"Don't cross the line."
"Just curious. Tell me and I'll give you a free shashlik. Rough outline's fine."
"……Got into it with some bastard. Ended up like this."
"Personal revenge?"
I nodded.
He smirked and handed me a skewer of shashlik.
"Gomez Clinic — keep going straight down that road until you see a blue pillar. Turn right from there and you'll find a building with 'Gomez Clinic' written on it."
"I already know. You think I came here completely clueless? And this shashlik is garbage."
"Hmm. Plum sauce on shashlik not working out, huh…. Developing a new menu is hard."
I tossed the skewer back at him and headed for the Gomez Clinic. The guy selling shashlik was probably an informant — looking to sell my information to an information broker. How much anyone would pay for trash like that, I had no idea.
I arrived at the Gomez Clinic. A woman sat at the counter, smiling brightly.
"Welcome, sir. Is this your first visit to our clinic?"
"I want to see Lana Gomez."
"The director? I'm sorry, sir. The director only sees special clients."
"I'm a Class-5 Mage."
"……A special client indeed. I've sent a message to the director. Oh, she's free at the moment. Please take the elevator to the fourth floor."
I rode the elevator up to the fourth floor.
I sniffed the air. That distinctive hospital smell. I knocked on the director's office door.
"Come in."
I opened the door.
A woman sat at the desk. She looked to be in her sixties — old, but somehow not worn. Sharp-featured, she adjusted her glasses and spoke.
"So the exorcist mage has arrived. Sit."
"……Exorcist mage?"
"Two days ago, when the Dark Moon rose, you wiped out every ghost in a village, didn't you?"
"Word already got around…."
That night, I'd hunted ghosts until dawn and cut them down one after another. At first it was just because the ones charging at me were annoying; halfway through, testing my magic got me fired up. The whole thing was caught cleanly on CCTV, and that afternoon the London Guard paid me five hundred thousand credits in bounty money.
"Mana roads are the problem, right? The only mages who come looking for me are the ones with that issue."
"Looks like I came to the right place."
"I'll be blunt. I don't have the materials for a mana restoration. I've got everything else — the Blue Distortion is the problem. It's a flower that only blooms when the Dark Moon rises, so the supply is limited."
"The Dark Moon rose two days ago."
"Blue Distortion isn't a flower you can just pick up because the Dark Moon rose. Cultivation is impossible, too. You think there are many people out collecting flowers on a Dark Moon night?"
"Still, small amounts do come in. The ones who arrived before you are waiting patiently, so just make a reservation, get your checkup, and leave. I'll contact you when your turn comes. Depending on the situation, it could take longer than three months. If that bothers you, go find another shop."
I reached into the inner pocket of my coat. The air went taut in an instant. Her hand drifted under the desk.
"I'm not looking for a fight. And I'm not here to threaten you."
"Then what?"
"Blue Distortion. I have it."
I pulled out a box and set it on the desk. She opened the lid and went pale with shock.
"Blue Distortion petals! You gathered this many? At least five thousand, by the look of it!"
"Let's make a deal. I want the mana restoration done immediately. In exchange, I'll give you five hundred Blue Distortion petals."
"You're straight-up robbing me. You think five hundred petals covers the cost of repairing mana roads? Restoring a single mana road costs fifty million credits."
"The five hundred is payment for moving me up the queue. I'll settle the restoration fee with the rest."
"…How many damaged mana roads?"
"Sixteen."
"A Class-5 Mage with sixteen mana roads shattered…. Why are you so calm? You should be on your knees grabbing my legs and begging for your life."
"Spare me the nonsense. The deal?"
"This deal puts me at a loss. Sixteen mana roads — eight hundred million credits. That much could buy twenty thousand Blue Distortion petals."
"If you could buy them, that is."
Blue Distortion was hard to come by, which was exactly why I'd gone and gotten it myself.
"……There is a condition."
"What is it?"
"I want you to wipe out a gang. Not one based in Neo London. They've been intercepting shipments on the northern road out of Neo London."
"Isn't that the London Guard's job?"
"How slow the London Guard is — the sky knows it, the earth knows it, and even the beggars know it. Take those bastards out and recover the goods they stole from my daughter. If you don't like it… go find another restorer."
Lana Gomez's expression was set in stone.
I let out a sigh.
I had no choice but to take this job. I was the one who needed her. Right now, the most skilled and trustworthy restorer in Neo London was her alone.
"…I'll look into this gang properly on my end."
"No backers. About thirty members, and they're cyborgs, from what I hear."
"…Are you giving me this job because I'm a lightning-element mage?"
"That, and a hundred-percent commission completion rate. I figured you weren't some half-assed nobody."
"Either way, I'll do my own investigation and let you know whether I'm taking the job or not."
"Fine. But I won't wait long. Contact me within three days. Get in the scanner. Let's check the state of your mana roads."
Lana Gomez pointed at the examination machine. It looked like a crude refrigerator. I sighed and walked over to it.
"Do I need to strip, too?"
"I have no interest in your naked body."
I stepped inside the scanner. A cold chill poured down from above.
…This better not actually be a fridge.
Thirty seconds later, the door opened. I stepped out and approached her as she stared at the monitor.
A human silhouette floated against a black background. The head shone pure white, and from there blue lines branched out through the entire body.
"So this is my Astral and my mana roads?"
"That's right. The Astral is in good condition… and the quality of the mana roads is excellent. All thirty-four mana roads are circulating."
"Aren't mana roads supposed to circulate normally?"
"That is the normal state. But more than half of most mages' mana roads can't circulate. Getting them to flow is part of my job, too…. Hoo. Did you get some kind of procedure done? Your body is filthy clean."
She sounded impressed. Probably because of the mana shower.
"Does clean or not clean even matter?"
"A mage is asking me that? Unbelievable."
"…I taught myself magic."
"A self-taught Class-5 Mage? I've heard of it a few times, but this is the first time I've seen one in person. Mana roads are roads, just like the name says. The cleaner and smoother the road, the faster mana can run. In that sense, all thirty-four of your mana roads are in peak condition. The kind of road that makes you want to floor the accelerator in a supercar without a second thought."
"And the other sixteen?"
"They're so wrecked you can barely call them roads. Blocked, severed, burned. Looks like you put your mana roads through hell somewhere."
"I put in some work killing a bastard. Can they be restored?"
"I've restored mana roads in worse shape than this. No problem."
"Good to hear."
I stood up from my seat.
"I'll contact you within three days."
"Alright."
She answered without so much as glancing away from the monitor.